"Exquisitely
considered and built out with one impeccably gorgeous sentence
after another, Rifkin's stories are as honest and fully, soulfully
inhabited as I remember them being when I first read (envied,
studied!) him in magazines. As journalism continues to change
and favor the hot take and fast draw, this is the kind of writing
I miss most of all — larky
and searching, yet meaningful and often mind-blowing. Surprise
yourself and dive in." — Hank
Stuever, Washington Post TV critic and author of Tinsel

"One
of the true LA originals, Alan Rifkin is easy to catch in the
act of being brilliant. He writes with a diamond cutter's artistry
about everything from swimming pools to swooning hearts and knows
that 'there's as much ache as joy' in both. There are only a handful
of writers who can make anything interesting, and whether he's
dealing with monks, dolphins, telescopes or unhappy marriage,
Burdens by Water proves that Rifkin is one of them."
— John Powers, Critic-at-Large,
NPR's "Fresh Air"

"Modesty,
frankness and intelligence are Rifkin's trademarks — and
oh, such beautiful writing." — Michelle
Huneven, author of Blame and Off Course

"Alan
Rifkin's memoir takes us to wild places: from a Capuchin monastery
and a Chilean observatory to the San Fernando Valley and the personal
past. Alive with deep comedy, honesty and grace, this is a terrific
book." — Charlie Haas, author
of The Enthusiast

Wounds to Bind: A Memoir of the Folk-Rock Revolution
by Jerry Burgan with Alan Rifkin

"A
remarkable memoir. . . an intimate portrait of a boyhood friendship
ripening into rivalry and then redemption." — San
Francisco Examiner

"[D]elves
much deeper than band history. . . an excellent, well-written
chronicle."
— Library Journal

“The
fascinating tale of a band that paddled to the crest of a huge
new wave in popular music and then got wiped out by it. A first
recording session is captured as brilliantly as the chagrin of
having to gig at a conservative university in Texas, where the
band’s long hair and black drummer put them way beyond the
pale.” — Record Collector

"[B]eautifully
written . . .It's intoxicating to imagine a time when a single's
debut would gather spellbound listeners around a radio."
— San Jose Mercury News

Signal Hill
by Alan Rifkin

"Hauntingly
beautiful, the work of a gifted storyteller with a sharp eye but
a tender heart." — Los Angeles Times Book Review

"As
incisive, eloquent and definitive a collection of L.A. stories
as any since David Freeman's
A Hollywood Education nearly twenty years ago, but from the other
side of the psychic tracks, where desperation runs parallel with
wisdom."
— Steve Erickson

"A
spot-on, weirdly life-affirming and terrifically written batch
of stories. I could read this guy all day." — Jerry
Stahl

"Rifkin
writes with such startling originality and authority that you
have to believe he'll be the next darling of the literary world."
— Time Out, New York

"I
was lured back to the stories in Signal Hill again and again.
. .That’s you in there, riding the parallel rail on the
same runaway train of thought." — OC Weekly